Sounds of a Road Trip (Audio Scavenger Hunt)

I went on a little road trip with my family this weekend to Columbus which fit in perfectly with my audio scavenger hunt assignment. I decided on sounds of a road trip: the sounds of the car, the crinkle of a map, the swipe of a hotel key, etc. I loved planning this assignment out and taking the photos and audio, but I had a little trouble with Final Cut. My video looks just a little bit squished, so I hope I can go back and fix that when I have more time.


Scavenger Hunt- Road Trip from Amy Crawford on Vimeo.

Studio Photography Midterm Critique

Here's a look at some of my favorite work so far from my studio photography class...

Katie (Two Lights Assignment)

For my two lights assignment I chose to shoot my sister Katie. I thought this assignment was another good chance to get more comfortable with posing people. Although I'm obviously familiar with Katie and I've taken her photo before, she can be very picky when it comes to having her photo taken. I think she ended up being happy with these though!

Large soft box on the left, beauty dish on the right

Large soft box in the front left, beauty dish in the back right

Large soft box on the left, beauty dish on the right

Large soft box on the left, beauty dish on the right

Large soft box in front left, beauty dish angled and above on the right

Still Life (Three Lights Assignment)

I really enjoyed experimenting with three lights in class but I wasn't sure how I would manage to set everything up by myself! I was especially nervous to use the overhead crane light. Luckily I had my sister along to help me set up and I got everything up and running. I wanted this assignment to be very clean and simple. My favorite ones are of the necklace because I like how you can see the reflection of the beauty dish from above. All of these photos were taken using a beauty dish from above and two soft boxes on each side.

Los Straitjackets (Self Assignment #2)

For my business of photography class, I decided to shoot concerts. A dream job of mine would be to work for an independent radio station like WYEP covering concerts, in-studio sessions, and other events they host. Since I don't have too many examples of concert photographs in my portfolio, I decided this would be a great opportunity to build it up. My first concert I shot was Los Straitjackets, an instrumental surf rock band in which the members wear lucha libre masks. I found that the masks made it a little difficult to photograph because I usually like capturing different facial expressions. Also, these guys don't sing, so it was unlike any concert I've seen or photographed.

Environmental Portraits

Environmental portraits are something I've always struggled with. Even when I took them for my black and white classes, something always went wrong. Since I seem to have a not-so-good history with environmental portraits, I was pretty nervous going into this. I chose to photograph the owner of Off the Avenue Antiques in Coraopolis. I really enjoy this shop and every time I've visited, the owner always seems really nice. I wasn't super happy with what I got, but the first one is definitely my favorite. I'm definitely lacking in variety of poses, but the other ones I took (including one of another employee at the shop) didn't turn out as well. I still enjoyed the assignment and hopefully with practice I'll continue to get more comfortable with environmental portraits.

Jim Barricella of Coraopolis owns Off the Avenue Antiques and Collectibles on the corner of 4th Avenue and Mill Street in Coraopolis, PA. Jim has been in business for 8 years and his shop features a variety of antique and vintage goods including furniture, household accessories, and clothing.   

Deadline Assignment

 

Joe Motznik of Brookline puts up an advertisement on Liberty Avenue in front of Gateway Center for FeedThePig.org. Motznik works for Lamar Advertising and drives around downtown putting up outdoor advertisements. Once the advertisement is in place, Motznik takes a photo of it to document his work. "Now it's my turn! They gotta know it's up!"

Natalie (One Light Assignment)

My friend Natalie (and fellow photographer) has a quirky style and a love of anything orange. Coats, shirts, accessories... you name it, she has it in orange. I decided to use her for my studio class' one light assignment in which I used a large soft box.

Moon Area High School Varsity Soccer (Sports)

When I first got to Point Park, I was convinced I wanted to be a sports photographer. I love hockey and I've photographed it before, so I thought sports could be really fun. Not far into my college career, I learned that photographing sports was not for me and this photojournalism assignment reconfirmed this. Sports photography is not easy. You have to have good timing and keep up with the action. It also helps if you understand the sport. I love hockey but I'm not into other sports at all. I knew I wanted a challenge so I decided I definitely wanted it to be a night sporting event. I couldn't make it to a football game so I decided on soccer. Maybe it's just me, but soccer seems like one of the hardest sports to photograph. I think it would have been a bit easier had it been during the day, too. The players move fast and up and down the field. You kind of have to stay in one area and hope the action comes to you because you obviously can't be chasing after it. I did not capture that perfect moment and I wasn't pleased with most of my photos. However, I am glad I took the challenge to photograph a fast-paced sport at night. And now I have no regrets about not being a sports photographer.

Moon Tigers vs. Ambridge Bridgers. September 21, 2012.

Hayden Keefer kicks the ball down the field, moving the play out of the Tigers' end zone.

A Bridgers player and Nick Davignon of the Tigers try to possess the ball.

An Ambridge Bridgers player takes a shot on Tigers' goalkeeper Nick Wasson. 

A Bridgers player grabs onto Matthew Keefer as he tries to possess the ball. 

Doug Ruffing takes a shot at the free kick awarded to the Tigers.